For nearly 50 years, the Sulie and Pearl Harand Camp has
offered thousands of Chicago-area youngsters a golden
opportunity each summer to learn how to sing, dance and
act in the classics of American musical theater.

For the last five decades Harand Camp has successfully
co-starred the camaraderie and activities of traditional
summer camp life with a character-building course of
self-esteem through professionally taught classes in
stage performance skills. The Harand family believes the
combination of the theatre arts and sports ultimately
helps each camper become a well-rounded individual.

My sister and I were both performers around Chicago for
a long time and people would ask us where their kids
could study what we do,” said Sulie Harand, an Evanston
resident since 1950. As president and camp director, the
still very active Harand shares the running of the camp
with her daughter, Judy Friedman Mooney, and her nieces,
Pearl’s daughters, Nora Gaffin Shore and Janice Gaffin
Lovell.

In the 1960s, Harand Camp hosted up to 375 campers
during a four to eight week season. Currently, it offers
three and six week sessions for boys and girls aged 8 to
17. Each session includes productions and campers stay
in dorms/cabins named after such classic Broadway hits
as “Carousel,” ” Brigadoon,” “South Pacific,” “Mame,”
and “My Fair Lady.”

Our kids may come singing rock tunes in their heads, but
they go home asking for Gershwin and Berlin and knowing
all the musicals, said Harand, who got her start
studying opera. We emphasize a non-competitive and
caring family environment. It is for this reason that
all roles are shared, so every child has a chance to be
in the spotlight and also perform in the ensemble. If we
are doing ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ there may be six
Dorothy’s, three Scarecrows, Lions, and Tinmen. “The
kids become a soloist whether they are the greatest
talent or not,” Sulie said. “We give them the parts we
think will do them the most good personally. Often we go
against type. If a kid is shy, we may give them the
loudest and most boisterous songs. If someone is all
over the stage and might need to be toned down, we might
give them a quiet song.”

Harand believes this
gives her campers the confidence and poise “which
carries them through the rest of their lives, no matter
what they are going to do.” Evanston native Jeremy
Piven, who attended the camp in the early 1980’s, has
described his experiences at Harand as “the ultimate
fantasy camp.” “Harand was like living the dream for me.
Acting and sports together,” he said. “The love of that
place from Pearl and Sulie radiated everywhere. ‘No man
is an island,’ indeed. I will never ever forget that
magical place.”